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Unfortunately this week has presented limited opportunities for me to perform any type of teaching.  We were off two days due to inclement weather and Wednesday we had the guidance counselor come into our classroom for some teaching and character education for an hour so we had no ELA instruction and math was a review because the students will be taking their unit assessment on Friday.  Thursday, we taught ELA and I taught adjectives to four different small groups.  The students did well with grasping adjectives but I still need to improve on maintaining the students focus during small group instruction.  Maybe I am placing too high of expectations on them when it comes to their behavior and maybe I just need to realize that I am dealing with first graders.  They are not misbehaving when they are with me but they speak out frequently and do not stay on task.  My goal for next week is to have them stay focused and on task during their time with me.  I will implement more strategies that will aid my cause like waiting for them to put their eyes on me before I continue instruction and the use of positive and negative rewards for staying on task and not calling out when they are not supposed to.  Hopefully, these strategies will have a positive result and I can see growth in my classroom management abilities.

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Chris by no means should you compare your behavior management to Michelle- as you said she has 20 years experience. Being consistent with implementing behavior management is crucial. Another crucial part of teaching first grade is explicit modeling of whatever you are going to ask them to do. And providing any necessary background knowledge , making clear connections to what they already know how to do.

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These past two weeks I have the opportunity to teach small groups. I have realized keeping my first graders' attention is a task within itself.  Using such verbal and physical techniques like, " one, two, three all eyes on me" and clapping in a pattern and having the students repeat my clapping patterns are vital to maintaining order and establishing their focus.  Also, the constant repetition of directions are needed since their attention spans are so limited.  Also establishing routines within my small groups make the students aware that things will be performed and carried out the same way every time is very important for these students.  I need to be more consistent with my students and have them realize that I have expectations for them and that they will not be able to take advantage of me since I am not their primary teacher.  It is tough to emulate my mentor teacher since she is 20 year veteran, but I try my best and I have established a good relationship with all the students.  Furthermore, I feel that I have gained their trust and they want to learn from me.  My next step is to teach the whole class and build my confidence in that particular theater.  Hopefully, I will get the opportunity to do so next week.

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This past week I was in the classroom all three days that school was in session.  I witnessed several different examples of effective teaching.  I saw my mentor teacher reward the students who completed their assigned homework by granting them 10 extra minutes of recess time since only half the class completed the required reading log.  This reinforced the importance of completing assigned work.  I, also, witnessed my mentor teacher repeat instruction for a "rally point" drill that the students were unaware how to perform the drill. By my mentor teacher drawing a map on the board to let the students be aware where they were supposed to go, took a lot of confusion out of the drill for the students.  She repeated the directions to the students multiple times and stressed the importance of the drill so the students took it seriously.  I taught lessons in figurative language to the students on all three days.  The third day, I had the students come up to the computer and drag the literal definition of an idiom to the nonliteral definition of an idiom and the students responded well to this activity.  They were very engaged in performing the task and the responses given by the students were accurate.  This meant to me that the students understood the connection between literal and nonliteral language and my job in conveying the instruction was effective.  These three examples were just some of the effective teaching witnessed and demonstrated this past week in my mentor teacher's classroom.

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This week I witnessed great classroom management performed by my mentor teacher.  As we know this is American Education Week and the typical routine is not the same.  Yesterday, the students had Grandparents' Day and the Book Fair.  This disruption in the student's routine caused them to be more rambunctious than normal.  My mentor teacher repeated her expectations to the class multiple times and made sure they stayed on task throughout the day.  After the Book Fair, the students had new, fun books and pens and to play with but my mentor teacher made sure they put them away in the appropriate places right when the students returned to the classroom.  We, also, had grandparents coming in and out of the class throughout the day which caused distractions but instruction still remained constant and impactful.  This was all new to me being an intern and extremely helpful to witness a veteran teacher conduct effective classroom management during a hectic and unusual day.

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An effective teacher is one who takes the time to instruct and revise their students' work.  This type of teacher makes sure his or her students understand and comprehend what's required them.  Providing the essential documentation to their work makes the students aware of their strengths and weaknesses in their work.  By doing so, students can make the appropriate revisions and gain comprehension of the content.  It, also, provides a sense of accountability for their own work. This sense of accountability makes the work more of their own work and makes them want to do better in the future.  I received a bunch of questions regarding spelling and capitalization prior to them meeting with the teacher, which proves to me that the students care about their work and that they want to do their best.  When students strive for their best, the outcomes generally exceed expectations.  An effective teacher can only hope for this result in their students' work.

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This week we had the opportunity to walk through multiple classrooms and witness instruction in the classroom for different grade levels.  I witnessed a kindergarten class use the carpet in whole class instruction for phonics.  The students were actively engaged throughout the lesson and the teacher called on different students who displayed their responses on personal white boards.  The class was well-behaved throughout the lesson and the teacher was pleased with the results of the lesson.  Later on, I watched a successful third-grade class during small group instruction.  The teacher had directions for each small group on the screen letting them what to do currently and what to do next when they completed their first assignment.  The entire class was also well-behaved and followed the instruction throughout.  It was nice to see different grade levels participate in activities that I have observed in my mentor's class, but with their own twists on how to manage different types of instruction and procedures.  I saw a second grade transition from a math lesson to their special for the day.  All in all, the process was a great learning experience and I am extremely glad the liaison from our mentor school organized this activity which allowed us to see effective teaching at different grade levels.

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Chris,  yes! You can be firm and kind at the same time. It is essential that your students see you as their teacher not their friend. That doesn't mean your not a caring and supportive teacher. Children need and want that structure. Children test limits and they need you to establish the boundaries  of acceptable behavior. The substitute did do a great job of modeling for them how to answer questions about a text. Great modeling will lead them to completing the task being taught independently. She set the expectation of how to answers questions, using details from the text, complete sentences etc.  You model exactly what to you need to them to do and you stick to your expectations.  So for example ,when they ask "do we have to use complete sentences?"  your answer is always yes. Great reflection!

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This week I had the most exposure teaching and leading the class in morning meetings and transitions than I have had to date.  I have also realized that being liked by your students is important but having their respect and being an authority figure is even more important.  I have seen the students try to take advantage of my kindness because they think I am not going to be as strict with them as my mentor teacher may have been so establishing my role as a teacher and not just a friend has been an important realization.  Furthermore, while teaching I have seen that providing the students the proper wait time to answer questions and serving as a facilitator increases class participation and provides the students with a better understanding of the content being taught.  I was also fortunate this week to have a substitute teacher with 28 years of experience under her belt teach ELA to the students on Wednesday and she did an excellent job of modeling and encouraging participation and I saw the effect it had on the students. She had a no nonsense approach to the students and that tactic worked well.  The sound of her voice could have been an important part to her success but nonetheless the students totally respected her and the class behaved very well.  I guess what I am trying to say is it is quite beneficial to me as a student teacher to learn from multiple styles of teaching and the effects it has on the students.  I know I will have my own style but taking bits and pieces from others will only make me a more effective teacher and the fact that the two teachers I have witnessed so far have a collective 50 years of teaching under their belts and for that I am grateful.

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Chris , this is an excellent reflection. It is difficult to teach someone else's class and it is completely expected to need to adjust your lessons. It takes practice to time your lessons , knowing when to keep moving and when to break it down more if needed. The good news is that the more you practice the more natural it will become especially when you've mastered the content your teaching. Be confident in the fact  that you are the teacher when your mentor hands it over. Your teaching style may be completely different from your mentors , use her advise but it's also okay to do what comes naturally as you develop your style.

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This past week I taught a math lesson and realized how important it is to map out your lesson plan in accordance to timing and being efficient with the structure of your lesson. I followed the structure of my mentor teacher's lessons in the past and since I had not taught any lessons in the classroom before it took some adjusting and preplanning.  My lesson did run over the allotted time but I was still able to cover all the material needed, I just felt rushed and not confident that all the students fully understood the content.  I did a learning checkpoint and small group work followed by an formative assessment.  I, also, witnessed the attitudes of the students towards me as the teacher verse the attitudes of the students towards my mentor teacher.  I felt as if the students were less sincere about learning when I was teaching as opposed to when my mentor teacher was teaching them.  I may be feeling this way since it was my first time teaching and wasn't totally comfortable up there teaching but I did have one student in small group tell me, "Mr. Marton, I can tell you are going to be a good teacher." That comment was nice to hear but he is also a nice student.  I need to do a better job in making the lesson more of my own as opposed to following the format of my mentor teacher's style.  There is a thin line you walk when attempting to teach another's classroom, meaning I wanted to keep with the style and structure of my mentor teacher but not sure if that is my best style in teaching.  Furthermore, I know it was my first time and my comfort level will increase in time but it was a learning experience and for that I am grateful.  In closing, on Tuesday I will be better prepared in my outlining of the material, with regards to walking through the steps of my mental process in completing the math problems when modeling for the students by actually labeling the steps of my process and indicating the importance of following the steps to reach the answer.  This was the first couple of steps in a long, long journey to becoming an effective teacher.

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And yes flexibility is a must in any job but definitely in education and remember some changes you may think you don't like , end up being great.

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Chris, That is a great example of the reality of teaching. You can never get too comfortable because big changes like that happen everyday. It sounds like they have a great fourth team and that is so crucial. Your grade level team is everything, great teams support one another and plan together. Fortunately the county curriculums are so detailed it is easier to be able to teach the new content while adjusting to the change. This will be so helpful in your first year teaching too.

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I posted this yesterday but will retype it again. How I observed my mentor teacher being effective in the classroom this past week was by being flexible and exhibiting teamwork.  The fourth grade team decided to not departmentalize anymore and keep their homeroom classroom for the entire day.  This meant the students would no longer switch classrooms and now they would receive all their instruction from the same teacher all day long.  My mentor teacher had not taught ELA for several years so she would now have to refresh herself with the subject matter and be effective in doing so.  Furthermore, one of the other fourth grade teachers had not taught math for multiple years so she needed the same refreshing in this subject area.  I witnessed them discuss this transition with the principal, who supported them, and implemented the new schedule for the students this week.  The transition was seamless and my mentor teacher pulled off teaching the new content without any issues. This taught me a lot in regards to being flexible and having to accept change on the fly.  I knew my mentor teacher was not excited about teaching ELA but she accepted the challenge and ran with it.  I know teamwork and being flexible are two crucial elements of being an effective teacher but witnessing it firsthand was extremely helpful in learning how teachers overcome obstacles throughout the year.

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Prof Monacelli- I posted my comment yesterday at 10am and now it is not showing up on this padlet. Not sure what happened.

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Yes - establishing those routines and implementing them consistently and always following through with promised rewards (or consequences) is crucial to the success of the entire school year.  And yes you absolutely are a model for behavior too. Students will watch how you treat them , other teachers , parents.  You want to be kind and respectful but also firm in your expectations. Creating that welcoming environment allows them to take risks and not be afraid to be active participants in their learning. Great reflection

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Chris,

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An effective teacher is someone who establishes routine and structure from the start of day one in the classroom.  In doing so, the students feel a sense of safety and normality which will provide a better learning environment.  For example, I have watched my mentor teacher discuss all procedures for the classroom from what to do once the students arrive to when they get dismissed or have to transition to a special or another classroom.  She has also told all the students where all items in the classroom are located in case they are needed throughout the school year.  I have also witnessed her kind and compassionate attitude towards her students which makes them feel welcomed and comfortable.  She never dismisses a student's response negatively thus enabling the students to feel as if every response they give will not result in embarrassment.  She has also conveyed all the essential information for how the students need to respond in case of an emergency.  An effective teacher also facilitates discussion in the classroom by allowing the students to think freely and describe why they came up with the responses they did.  Furthermore, an effective teacher demonstrates how to conduct themselves in a polite and responsible way from teaching manners to notifying them when to speak and when not to converse.  Lastly, to reiterate an effective teacher is someone who makes the students feel welcomed, valued, comfortable while also providing order to the classroom.

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Hey Prof. Monacelli just letting you know my padlet is up and running!